This article was taken from the July 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by <span class="s1">subscribing online.

This wind tunnel is about to bombard a GEnx-2B engine -- the kind used on a Boeing 747-8 -- with more than 1,200kg of cold air, water and ice per second. "We blast it directly into the engine," says engineer Kevin Kanter, who manages the GE Aviation ice testing facility in Winnipeg, Canada. "It ices it up so we prove that we can run that way."

Seven fans create winds of up to 100kph, which mix with water sprays to form an icy cloud in temperatures as cold as -20 degrees celsius. Those are the kinds of conditions a plane could meet in service, and the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requires engines to show they can cope. "You want to make sure that the engine can handle weather variations," explains Kanter. The petition for FAA-required in-flight meal testing starts here.

This article was first published in the July 2013 issue of WIRED magazine